Le Figaro Marseille
Unsanitary, dirty, or overcrowded cells. In a report published on Friday, the president of the Marseille Bar Association, Mathieu Jacquier, draws up a worrying inventory of the living conditions of people in custody in the police stations of the northern division of Marseille and at the Évêché, headquarters of the Marseille police.
This report follows an impromptu visit by the President of the Bar on 19 December. "The hygienic conditions are to be deplored for both sites," writes the President of the Bar Association. The problems are numerous: "unsanitary conditions, unbearable smells of urine and ammonia, strong lights preventing sleep, lack of clean mattresses and blankets free of vermin, random distribution of meals...".
The conditions of minors in the crosshairs
The President of the Bar is particularly shocked by the living conditions of the minors in the jails of the northern police station, "which could undermine their integrity". "At the time of my visit, two minors were in the only cell available for police custody, one sleeping on the floor, the other on the bench," he wrote in his report. Hygiene is deplorable.
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Minors are held in police custody and are particularly regulated by the Code of Criminal Procedure, Jacquier told Le Figaro. They are considered to be more prone to psychological pressure." "The cells are in filth, in the middle of the rubbish that litters the floor," he continues. It's despicable. They are clearly not washed. The Karcher that has to be passed is never passed.
»The lawyer is also indignant at the conditions in which his colleagues talk to people in police custody. At the northern police station, according to his report, the reserved space is "far too cramped", especially when the lawyers are assisted by an interpreter (i.e. 3 people in less than 4m²)". At the Bishop's Palace, Mr. Jacquier also deplores "the impossibility of having a confidential interview." "If the lawyer's room is soundproofed, that of the person in police custody is absolutely not," writes the President of the Bar Association.
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An appeal in preparation
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At the same time, it was noted that the rooms reserved for doctors are clean and larger, explains Jacquier. We asked to be allowed access to these premises, but the police are annoyed. Doctors are treated better than lawyers. That needs to change. The defence must be treated as well as the doctors.
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I have just sent a request for authorization to my bar association to take legal action on the basis of an application for summary proceedings before the administrative court, the president of the bar announced to Le Figaro.It will be carried out on the same basis as what was done in Nice, in the name of undermining human dignity and failing to respect the right to defence." The appeal is expected to be heard by next Tuesday at the latest.